You do not need a research report to predict the fate of netbooks. The fledgling segment has been battered badly by burgeoning tablet
market. However, if you still need numbers and figures to back up the claim, then research firm Canalys has just proved the same with their latest report. While tablets topped netbooks, smartphone proved to be more popular than tablets and tablets combined.
Canalys report states that year 2011 saw 63 million tablets shipped, while netbook sales volume stood at 29.4 million. According to these figures, netbook market shrank by almost 25 percent and tablet market grew almost three times. In contrast, PC market showed the growth rate of only 2 percent. Within the PC market, notebooks showed better potential than desktops. During the year, netbooks shipments grew 8 percent while desktop numbers increased by only e percent.
Netbooks segment was started in 2007 but the category could not sustain itself for long. While these mini notebooks did cause some splash in the beginning, but were soon overcome by tablets and cheaper laptops. Canalys had conducted similar study in 2009, when the research firm had claimed that 'netbooks reshape the PC industry'. The segment finally peaked at 39.4 million unit shipment in 2010. However, it was not able to maintain the momentum.